Berseria: Too early a morning
by Jerricom
Summary: The team's out trekking across Midgand, and spend the night at your average town inn. When they wake in the morning Eleanor has some choice words for Velvet in general, and her somewhat depressive view of her future in particular.


**A little too early a morning for Velvet and Eleanor.**

The crack of thunder startles her awake, rousing her from a sleep that was shallow at best. Velvet groans, rubbing at her forehead, trying in vain to get at the headache behind it as she pushes herself into a sitting position in the bed. Rain's clattering against the room's northfacing window, she can see the faint suggestion of a dawn to the east. Then she hears someone gasp, a silent but high-pitched sound coming from the bed next over: Velvet turns her head just in time to see Eleanor pull up her bedsheet over her chest and stammer "O-oh, I didn't realise that the ligthtning woke you too."

Velvet raises an eyebrow, not taking her eyes off Eleanor, "What, worried that I'll peep? We're all girls here," she says in a silken-smooth voice to match her name. _Well, all girls exempt Laphicet, but that can't be helped._

Eleanor lets out a long, groaning sigh and slumps back into bed, "Velvet, not now... I was hoping for a good night's sleep for once..."

"Hear hear," Velvet says and gathers her bedsheets closer about herself, it's not exactly warm in the plain stone building. "Trekking through the mountains wasn't much fun."

"No," Eleanor replies and runs a hand through her reddish ginger hair, "I'm not sure who won the complaining contest, Bienfu or Magilou. Gosh, they really need to learn that it only serves to-..." She's interrupted and momentarily overwhelmed by a great yawn, managing only with a slight slurr to finishes the sentence, "...serves to worsen morale for the rest of us." Velvet shrugs, and tosses the bedsheets off of herself, "Well we're awake, might as well get up."

Another groan from Eleanor, "But it isn't even light out yet Velvet, what's the hurry..?"

Velvet blinks and raises an eyebrow, turning to stare down at Eleanor with an expression of deadpan confusion, "Eleanor, are you seriously making _me_ tell _you_ to get out of bed?"

The redhead develops a slight blush at Velvet's topless form, huffs and shakes her head indignantly, "No no, it's not that I-..." Another yawn. "...That I want to remain just to relax, it's, uhm..." She grimaces momentarily with concentration, "A full, complete night's sleep is the most important part of any journey! Otherwise you make mistakes, you get irritable a-and just get sloppy in general."

Velvet blinks, face blank. She shrugs, "Fine, suit yourself." She turns away from Eleanor and walks over to the chair by her bed, upon which her patchwork gear lays in a pile. A black cloak, way too large for her, that she used along with some red cloth, rope and belts to make a sort of makeshift trenchcoat. And of course her blade-heeled boots and right-hand vambracer with the shortsword hidden inside, folding out during combat like some wannabee assassin's weapon. "I doubt another hour will make a difference to me."

"And _I_ think you'd be surprised," Eleanor replies. "I wager it would do wonders for your mood."

Velvet perks an eyebrow again and glances over towards Eleanor, who's now gotten into a sitting position in bed. A moment of silence passes, and then Velvet shakes her head, "Nah, I'd rather not be left alone with my thoughts. As much as the idea of splitting Artorius's head open never gets old, every time I think about it I... Get more worried it won't be any consolation to me."

"Velvet, that's... Such a horrible thing to say. Isn't there _anything_ you can lie down and think of, that will make you genuinely happy?" Eleanor's sitting on the edge of her bed by now. The black-haired young woman looks at Eleanor for another moment and then turns back to her clothes, "Not really, no. Honestly though, I thought you'd gotten used to hearing me talk about killing Artorius by now."

"It's not something I could ever get used to." Velvet hears Eleanor's sheets drop to the bed and she cracks a smirk as she looks to Eleanor again, who's in the process of getting dressed herself, "Oh, have I managed to guilt-trip the iron-willed Eleanor Hume into getting up?"

"You have done no such thing!" Eleanor states firmly while pullling a white shirt over her head. She then speaks again, though in much gentler tones, "But honestly, Velvet, can you think of nothing? Not even Laphicet is any consolation?"

Velvet stops for a moment, opens her mouth, shuts it, and then says in a dismissive, irritated tone "And why do you care? I'm a Hellion, I thought you wanted nothing more than to turn me in to your Exorcist friends in Loegres."

"Because," Eleanor replies, sounding much more genuinely irritated than Velvet managed, "I believe in helping people. Your path to redemption would be longer than most, but believe it or not, I actually _do_ care about your feelings. If I think I can help you, I will. I'd much rather break a nail saving a sinner, than just leave them to their fates, deserved or not."

Velvet says nothing, not just because she doesn't know what to say but because a lump has formed in her throat. Eleanor huffs and, once again in gentler and even slightly joking tones, says "Maybe if you'd gotten more sleep, you'd be able to think rationally and not find such a concept so alien."

The two continue dressing in relative silence, until Eleanor finally dons that ridiculous circle skirt of hers and says she'll go down and see if they serve food this early in the morning, in her more usual cheer and energy. Velvet nods from her bed where she's sat, sharpening the retractable blade in her vambracer, and just as Eleanor opens the door out to the main hallway Velvet calls out to her, a sweet and genuine smile on her lips, "Hey, Eleanor... Thanks. For what you said."

 **The End.**


End file.
